​Employment is about more than punching a time clock and collecting a paycheck. People who work want to enjoy what they do for a living. They want to enjoy where they work and the organization for which they work.
They want, in essence, a high level of job satisfaction. An examination of their core values is an integral part of that satisfaction.
There are multiple steps in this process. Those steps are listed below:
Identify your core values.
Identify the core values of your current employer.
Determine whether or not your core values and the core values of your current employer line up.
If there’s a mismatch in values, identify where those mismatches are.
So what about your core values? Have you thought much about them? Do you have a sense of what they are, but you’ve never actually identified them?
Below are a few examples of “core value” principles:
Treating others with respect
Building long-term relationships
Acting with 100% integrity all of the time, regardless of the situation or circumstances
Giving back to the community with your time and/or talents
Do any of these pertain to you or do you associate yourself with one, two, or more of them? If you haven’t given much thought to this topic, there’s no time like the present to do so. Core values are an important part of a person’s job satisfaction and ultimately, their career growth.
What about your current employer? What is your employer’s core values? Are those values readily apparent? Some organizations put their values in the employee handbook. Some even display them on the wall in the lobby of the building.
Now that you’ve identified your core values and the core values of your employer, do they line up? If not, where do they not? And if they don’t line up, is the difference so great that you believe it’s causing a problem in terms of your job satisfaction?
Why is all of this important? A couple of reasons:
You may be asked about your core values during a face-to-face interview. The last thing you want is to not be able to answer the question. (Or to answer it in a way that makes it seem like you don’t know what you want or what you’re talking about.)
Knowing your core values inside and out is about more than just being happy at your current job. This knowledge holds the key to long-term career growth and satisfaction. If you know what your core values are, you’ll know which positions and which employers would be the best ones for you.
A job doesn’t have to be “just a job.” People spend almost half their waking hours working (depending on how much they sleep). Employment is a big part of their day-to-day existence.
And their core values play an important role in determining if it’s an enjoyable part of their existence.
What about you? Are you looking for a new job that fits better with your core values? Time Staffing can help!

​It doesn’t matter what line of work you’re in or what you do for a living. Everybody could use a good mentor, regardless of where they are in terms of their employment.
Sure, those who are just starting out in their careers could probably benefit the most from a mentoring relationship. However, people at all stages of their career could reap the benefits.
There are two different ways to pursue a mentor: through a formal mentoring program or in an informal way. Some organizations and companies offer opportunities through the former. If your employer does not, then perhaps you can pursue opportunities on your own through the latter.
A mentor could work at the same organization as you, or they might not. If the first scenario is the case, that might make the mentoring relationship easier to navigate and manage. However, it’s not a prerequisite.
Below is a set of five criteria for identifying a good mentor:
#1—They should have more work experience than you.
You want to learn from somebody who has been where you want to go. When it comes to benefiting from a mentoring relationship, learning from the experiences of another other person is crucial. Skills and certifications can be learned and earned. However, experiences have be . . . well, experienced. You can either learn from your own experiences (and mistakes), or you can learn from the experiences of others. Sometimes, learning from the experiences of others is less painful.
#2—They should be a good listener.
Talking is only half the battle. Sometimes, it’s not even half. A person has to be a good listener in order to accurately assess a situation and then make suggestions for improvement. By listening, your mentor will find out enough about you to help you grow. Not only will they need to know about your strengths and weaknesses, but also about your personality, goals, and beliefs. This also means that they should be adept at asking the right questions.
#3—They should be honest and realistic.
A good mentor should be able to “shoot you straight.” That means being upfront about your strengths, but also about your weaknesses. You need to know what those weaknesses are, and your mentor should not “sugar coat” them for you. Sugar is for desserts, not for providing feedback regarding your career and what you should do about it. On the other hand, you don’t want somebody who is going to focus on the negative all the time. That can be discouraging.
#4—They should have different strengths than you.
If you want to improve your weaknesses, then your mentor should be strong in areas that you are not. That way, they can use their strengths to both their advantage and to your advantage. One of the goals of a mentoring relationship is to figure out the best ways to use your strengths and also how to minimize your weaknesses (or eliminate them altogether).
#5—They should enjoy being a mentor.
You don’t want somebody who is going to be a mentor “against their will” or somebody who is only going to do it begrudgingly. They should be as excited about the venture as you are. They should be willing to share their experiences, share their expertise, and share their opinions. Your mentoring relationship should be a positive one all the way around and one that benefits you both personally and professionally.
Do you know somebody who would be a good mentor? How would a mentoring relationship with them help your career? What steps do you have to take to make that happen?

In a previous post in this blog, we introduced “2 Simple Steps for Exceptional Hiring.” In this post, we’re going to piggy-back off that post with more tips for hiring quality employees.
What’s the number-one factor when it comes to hiring quality employees? Production—you want employees who are going to be productive, and more specifically, who are going to produce results. In other words, you want employees who are going to be successful in their new role. Most of all, you want them to provide tangible and sustainable value.
But how do you hire such people? Well, the first way is simple. People who are successful typically have a track record of being successful. They have a history of producing results and providing value. Past performance is not always a leading indicator of future performance, but most of the time, that is exactly the case.
But what else should you look for besides a track record of success? Well, there are some intangible traits that are important, and identifying them could mean the difference between hiring the right person . . . and hiring a dud.
Below are three more tips for hiring quality employees who succeed:
#1—Hire people who have a great attitude.
A great attitude goes a long, long way. How people view the world is very important, and how your employees view their work, their employer, and themselves is particularly crucial. You want to hire people who have a positive attitude and the proper frame of mind.
You want the kind of person who thinks first about all the reasons that a task can be done as opposed to the kind of person who thinks first about all the reasons that a task can’t be done. This is how you hire not just for the present, but also for the future.
#2—Hire people who strive to get along well with others.
Company culture is more important than ever to organizations. This is the case not just for the purpose of attracting the right candidates, but also for the purpose of maximizing the production of your workforce. If there’s something wrong with the work atmosphere or the culture, nobody is going to want to work to their full potential.
People who get along well with others contributes in a positive way to the culture. The more positive the culture is, the more productive your employees will be. The more productive your employees are, the more profitable your organization becomes.
#3—Hire people who are intrinsically motivated, NOT extrinsically motivated.
This may seem like a small matter, but it really isn’t. People who fall into the former category are motivated from within. They drive themselves. They don’t rely on outside circumstances to dictate how hard they work or how much pride they take in their work. They’re self-perpetuating centers of ongoing production and value. All you have to do is keep them engaged and satisfied in their work, and they keep going like the Energizer Bunny.
When your employees succeed, YOU succeed as an organization. That why there’s nothing as important as hiring the right people, those with a track record of success and who possess all of the intangible attributes to continue succeeding well into the future.
Consider working with Time Staffing to meet your hiring needs, no matter what they might be. We can provide qualified candidates on a temp or a temp-to-direct basis.

​One of the most commonly asked questions by job seekers is, “How can I get hired?” Of course, that makes sense. If you’re a job seeker, it means that you’re seeking a job.
Landing a job is about more than just what you do during the job search process. It’s about your mindset as a job seeker. With the correct approach, you can increase your chances that you will be hired. With the incorrect approach, you will continue to “bang your head against the wall” in employment frustration.
The mindset that can help you to achieve success is best summed up by this one directive: forget about what you want.
That might seem counter-intuitive. After all, you want a job. That’s why you’re embarking upon a job search in the first place. What good does it do to forget about the fact that you want a job?
Well, you’re not forgetting about the fact you want a job, per se. You’re not even forgetting about what you want in a new job. You’re just not focusing on or emphasizing what you want in a new job, at least when it comes to your interaction with company officials.
To understand this better, let’s take a look at things from the employer’s perspective. It’s often helpful to see the situation from another point of view in order to gain a greater appreciation and understanding of it.
You care very much about finding a job. When the employer posts a job because they want to fill it, that employer does not care if you personally find a job. What that organization wants to do is fill the position with the most qualified person possible. They want somebody who is going to provide valueas an employee.
Bottom line: they want somebody who is going to help solve their problems. That is the top priority of the hiring manager. That’s what they care about the most.
So it only makes sense that you should care about that, as well.
As with most things in life, finding a job and getting hired is a matter of motivation. As a job seeker, you must find out what motivates the organization that wants to hire. Then you must make it clear that your interests align with theirs.
If the hiring manager’s #1 priority is to find a qualified and experienced candidate who is going to provide value and help solve the organization’s problems, then you must address that priority.
In other words, you must produce evidence of two things:
That you are a qualified and experienced candidate
That you are going to provide value and help solve the organization’s problems
These are the things that you must emphasize during the hiring process and especially during the face-to-face interview. Forget about how much vacation time you’re going to get. Forget about whatever perks you might be interested in. Forget about what you want—at least for now. Instead, focus on what the organization wants and needs.
This means:
Asking how the position impacts the organization in terms of importance and production
Asking what you can do immediately to help the company once you’re hired
Asking what the top needs of the company are and how the company is planning to meet those needs
Unfortunately, some job seekers are self-centered and self-serving during their job search. The end result is often a failed process and protracted disappointment. Change your mindset, switch gears, and set yourself up for success.